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With technology playing an increasing role in educating our children, the internet is
fast becoming a necessary tool for children as well as educators and
parents. While most
schools now have web sites, only a few are taking the initiative and using the internet as
it is meant to be used, for communicating, sharing information and keeping
parents and students informed and updated.
So perhaps when considering design and content information for your site,
you should keep in mind most importantly that keeping the content updated
and informative is priority.
Reasons why people will visit your site:
- To find information (parents and students looking for calendar information, a telephone
number, homework assignments, school news, events, schedules, etc.) Use
your website to make this information readily available.
- For relocation purposes, shopping for a school on the internet is something many parents
are doing these days. Offer information about curriculum, technologies,
mission, and more to show off what makes your school special. Use
your website to raise the profile of your school nationwide.
- To view the online projects and student work. Children love to see their work displayed
and what better way to show it off to those grandparents who live far away.
Allow your website to be a showcase for the students' work.
- To find local information about your town, city, state. Gathering information on a topic
and sharing it on the web where it can be used and expanded on by others.
Allow your website to reach out to people all over the world by
sharing information.
The internet is expanding our world by opening up communication and by putting tons of
information right at our fingertips. Teachers and students are excited about using the
internet, not only for research, but for providing information to parents and other
teachers and students as well.
There is a wide variety of information that can be placed on your school site. This
article is intended to provide you with information on what
to include on your school web page and guidelines to
follow.
What to include on a school
website
There is a wide variety of information that can be placed on your school site. This
article explores the various parts with descriptions and links to schools that offer a
great example for the topic.
School Information
- General School Information
Always include your school name on each page. Even if the page is a pop
up of some other information or instructions, your school name should be
there. Address, City, County, State, email, url should always be included.
It sounds simple enough but you may be surprised by how many school
sites do not list this information! The county is the most often left
out piece of information and because Florida school districts are based
on the Florida County, this should be included on your website. Even
private schools should list the county for those parents who are
relocating and don't know all of the cities surrounding the area, but
are looking in the county for a school.
- School Map
Directions, Zoning information, Bus Routes, etc. It is also
nice to show a map or provide a link to Mapquest, Yahoo Maps or Google
maps. These websites now let you pull the generated map directly onto your
webpage.
- School Picture, Logo, Song
- School Announcements
- Virtual Tours of your school
With photos, or movies or online cameras.
- Misc. School Information
Contests, Lunch menus, etc.
- School Calendar
List holidays and early release days. You can create your own or link to your district
site, for example: Palm Beach County School Calendar
has a good one.
- Online News/School Happenings
Create an Online Newspaper with current information, the latest news, etc. Will the school
be open due to the storm? Does your school have a current or upcoming event where the
parents might want to know more? Everyone likes to be kept informed, especially parents.
- Mission Statement
Practically all schools have one, if it's important to you then list it.
- Curriculum and Academics
- School Handbook
Merritt Brown
Middle School lists an excellent example.
- School Policies
- School Improvement
- School Wish List
Oakland
Park Elementary School
School Staff/Administration
- Principal Message
This can include a picture with a welcome message. Some school include the Vice Principal
as well. Both should be brief.
- Staff/Administration
This should be brief with list of names and positions with email and telephone numbers.
- Teacher Pages
Teachers are getting very involved in sharing information over the
internet. Your school site can include a brief listing of teachers names
and grade levels. Or provide class pages which include class projects,
class and homework assignments, monthly themes, and more. Definitely
should be included on every school site. Teacher profiles and teacher of
the year can be included.
Note: There are many teachers taking the initiative and creating web
pages of their own with some great information for their class, parents
and community.
Students: Activities and Projects
- Student Pages
This can be a fun part of your school site that will draw parents, students, relatives and
friends of students. Kids love to see their work displayed! So display it to the world!
(Please note: Only first names should be used and a consent form should be signed by the
parent and student. See Parent Consent) In
the upper grades, let the kids create their own pages. (Always have it
approved before publishing it to the web.) Have fun with your site and
give people a reason for coming back by keeping it current.
- Activities and Projects
Sharing online projects provides many outstanding opportunities. It enables your school to
communicate and share information with the community, parents, teachers as well as with
schools all over the world.
Parents and Volunteers
- PTO or PTA
What a great way to draw more parents into being active in the PTO or PTA. List
activities, volunteer opportunities, upcoming events and more.
- Volunteers
This is an excellent opportunity to list where volunteers are needed and to show
appreciation to the volunteers who donate their time for education.
Subjects and Specials
- Special Programs
ESOL, gifted, special needs, extended day programs, etc. Any special programs you would
like to include.
- Sports and PE
Include team records and stats, schedules, roster and more
- Arts and Music
Online art gallery, music clubs, bands, concert information and more
- Computer and Media
This is a common category on many school pages. Computer and Media are two common
categories on many school pages as they are easily integrated with the internet.
Local City/County/State Information
My favorite option, though unfortunately it is not very often included,
is to add information about the area where your school resides - your town,
city, county, or state. A nice way to include this is as a class project or student
reports. Let your students, through art or words, educate the world about where they live.
Then if a school in Florida wants to learn about what its like to live in Alaska, not only
can they learn about it from your site, but it will also open up communication through
email between schools and children all over the world. This can be on varying
subjects, just to name a few:
- Local History
- Local Culture
- Geography
- Weather
- Indigenous Plants and Animals
- Endangered Species of Florida
- Environment
- Local Government
- Community tour
- Local Attractions
- List community resources and local links
Miscellaneous Information
- Include anything from information about the school logo to information about a subject
that is important to your school. And again, let the students tell the stories through
their words and art.
- Favorite Links
Everyone has their favorites! Be careful what links you allow and be sure to include a
disclaimer.
- Alumni
- Business Partners
What a great way to get more businesses in the community involved in helping your
school. They will get a listing (free advertising) on your web site as a supporter of your
school.
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